Portable organizer

ABSTRACT

A portable organizer has a container portion that has a plurality of compartments that are formed by an arrangement of inner walls. The inner walls may be adjustable or statically arranged. A tongue is connected to the container portion that is used to anchor the container portion by fitting between a mattress and box spring or cushion and couch frame, etc. A hinge may be used to connect the tongue to the container portion to aid in storage. The tongue may be attached at an upper portion or lower portion of the container portion to match selected uses. In one embodiment, the tongue is compact and removable for easy and compact storage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority and herein incorporates by referenceU.S. provisional patent application 61/243,330, filed Sep. 17, 2009.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In today's busy lifestyle, convenience time-saving gadgets abound. Itseems that we have more and more things to keep track of while we spendmore time on our couch. Of course end tables and coffee tables are acommon place to keep all these things, it is not a perfect solution asthings fall off, spill and simply run out of room.

Likewise, end tables are often used in bedrooms. The end table is oftenever-crowed with alarm clock and other items. Also, it is difficult tokeep things organized on a flat table. There is a need for a portableorganizer that can keep items neat and accessible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A portable organizer has a container portion that has a plurality ofcompartments that are formed by an arrangement of inner walls. The innerwalls may be adjustable or statically arranged. A tongue is connected tothe container portion that is used to anchor the container portion byfitting between a mattress and box spring or cushion and couch frame,etc. A hinge may be used to connect the tongue to the container portionto aid in storage. The tongue may be attached at an upper portion orlower portion of the container portion to match selected uses. In oneembodiment, the tongue is compact and removable for easy and compactstorage.

Other features and advantages of the instant invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is front cutaway view of a portable organizer according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side cutaway view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 1in a typical use.

FIG. 5 is a side cutaway view of a portable organizer according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side cutaway view of a portable organizer according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 6in a typical use.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a portable organizer according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 8in a typical use.

FIG. 10 is a side cutaway view of a portable organizer with a removabletongue portion.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a side cutaway view of a portable organizer with a removabletongue portion having a securing means.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a side cutaway view of a portable organizer with anintegrated tongue portion.

FIG. 15 is a top view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a side cutaway view of the portable organizer shown in FIGS.10 and 11 in a storage position.

FIG. 17 is a side cutaway view of a handled embodiment of the portableorganizer shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

FIG. 18 is a top view of the handled embodiment of the portableorganizer shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 9with a tray cover installed.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the portable organizer shown in FIG. 9with pop out inner walls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference ismade to the drawings in which reference numerals refer to like elements,and which are intended to show by way of illustration specificembodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes maybe made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a portable organizer 100 is shown having anouter wall which forms a container portion 110 with a plurality of innerwalls 115, 120, 125 and 130 respectively. Inner walls 115, 120, 125 and130 are permanently formed as part of portable organizer 100 and aremanufactured as an integral unit. In another embodiment, some or all ofinner walls 115, 120, 125 and 130 are selectively insertable by slidingbetween grooves formed on inner sides of container portion 110 as isknown in the art. In the embodiment shown, a hinge 140 connects tongue135 to outer wall 110. Hinge 140 allows container to rotate for storage.In use tongue 135 slides under a mattress or cushion 170 between a boxspring or couch frame 175. The container portion 110 rests against boxspring or cushion 175 to keep it from rotating further. A limiting hingemay be used to further limit rotation without depending on restingagainst box spring or cushion 175 as is known in the art.

Referring to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of a portable organizer200 is shown having an outer wall which forms a container portion 210. Ahinge 240 connects a tongue 235 as discussed above; however, tongue 235is attached at a lower portion of container portion 210 causingcontainer portion 210 to be positioned above tongue 235. In thisembodiment, hinge 240 limits rotation by having a limiting portion thatallows hinge 240 to rotate to a point but no further. This allowsfolding for storage. A plurality of inner walls 225 and 230 are used tocreate various compartments to hold items.

Now referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a portable organizer 300 is shown havingan outer wall forming a container portion 310 having a plurality ofinner walls 325 and 330. A tongue portion 335 is integrally formed aspart of container portion 310. Of course, although tongue portion isshown joining at the bottom of container portion 310, it is understoodthat it could be joined at the top in a similar fashion as the portableorganizer shown in FIG. 2 without hinge 140.

In a typical use, as shown in FIG. 7, portable organizer 300 is insertedunder mattress or cushion 170 between box spring or couch frame 175using tongue 335.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, a portable organizer 800 is shown havingan outer wall forming a container portion 810. In this embodiment,container portion 810 is curved at one end to eliminate sharp corners. Aplurality of inner walls form compartments 815, 820, 830, 838, 840, 845,850, 855 and 865 respectively. Of course the exact layout of thesecompartments is not critical. In the embodiment shown a compartment 838is large enough to hold a book or magazine. These are shown merely asexamples of the kind of things that could be held in portable organizer800. In use, each user will determine what is actually held in thecompartments.

Now referring to FIG. 9, a removable inner wall 822 is user configurableso as to change the shape of the compartments. Removable inner wall 822fits within a wall track 825 to allow the user to insert or remove bysliding therein. Of course one or more wall tracks 825 may be provideddepending on the degree of customization allowed. Additionally, the sizeand shape of removable walls 822 may be varied to provide additionalflexibility.

In use, portable organizer 800 is slipped between mattress or cushion170 and box spring or couch frame 175 as discussed above. Of courseportable organizer 800 may be held in other kinds of anchoring objectssuch as love seats, desks, etc. Additionally, tongues 135, 235, 335 and835 may be made longer or shorter to meet specific needs. For example,the tongue could be made longer for an embodiment that is meant to beused under a mattress and short if meant to be used under a couchcushion.

The portable organizer may be made of plastic, wood, metal, composite orany suitable material. Additionally, the tongue may be made of the samematerial as the container compartment or could be a different material.

Now referring to FIGS. 10, 11 and 16 a container portion 910 has acompact tongue 920 removably fitting within a support bracket 930. Instorage, container portion 910 is detached from support bracket 930 andthen compact tongue 920 is rotated and fits within support bracket 930.

Now with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, the portable organizer hascontainer portion 910 attached to support bracket 930 as discussed abovewith the addition of a retaining means 940. Retaining means 940 may bebolts or screws or detent pins that securely holds tongue 920 withinuntil detached by user.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the portable organizer is shown havingcontainer portion 910 with a non-removable compact tongue 960. Thisprovides maximum simplicity with a relatively compact size. Becausecontainer portion 910 is integrally formed as part of tongue 960, thereare no parts to lose or wear.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 and 18, container portion 910 has a handle 965attached therein rotatably attached with a retainer 970. In use,portable organizer 910 is conveniently carried using handle 965 in avertical orientation and once anchored in selected position, handle 965is rotated to a horizontal position that is out of the way until needed.

Now with reference to FIGS. 8, 9 and 19, portable organizer 800 is shownwith a tray cover 975 installed by fitting over container portion 810.Tray cover 975 encloses compartments 815, 820, 830, 838, 840, 845, 850,855 and 865 respectively and allows a user to place a beverage, keys,etc. on top.

Now referring to FIG. 20, portable organizer 800 is show having pop-outinner walls 822 pre-perforated in tongue 835. A high strength plastic isperforated to allow a user to pop out walls 822 as needed. Once walls822 are removed, they are insertable as discussed above with respect toFIG. 9. The number of walls 822 disposed within is not critical as longas tongue 835 remains structurally intact.

Although the instant invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A portable organizer comprises; a containerportion; said container portion having at least one compartment; saidcontainer portion having an attachment end; a tongue portion disposed onsaid attachment end; said tongue portion being adapted to removably fitin an anchoring means.
 2. The portable organizer according to claim 1wherein said anchoring means is a couch and a couch cushion.
 3. Theportable organizer according to claim 1 wherein said anchoring means isa chair and a chair cushion.
 4. The portable organizer according toclaim 1 wherein said anchoring means is a mattress and a box spring. 5.A portable organizer comprises; a container portion; said containerportion having a plurality of compartment portions; said containerportion having a tongue portion along an edge of said container portion;and said tongue portion being adapted to fit between a first support anda second support whereby said tongue portion is removably held in place.6. The portable organizer according to claim 5 wherein said firstsupport is a mattress and said second support is a box spring.
 7. Theportable organizer according to claim 5 wherein said first support is acouch frame and said second support is a couch cushion.
 8. The portableorganizer according to claim 5 wherein said first support is a chairframe and said second support is a chair cushion.
 9. The portableorganizer according to claim 1 further comprising a hinge portiondisposed between said attachment end and said tongue whereby said tongueis adapted to rotate around said hinge portion to assist in storage. 10.The portable organizer according to claim 1 wherein said attachmentportion is disposed along a lower edge of said container portion. 11.The portable organizer according to claim 1 wherein said attachmentportion is disposed along an upper edge of said container portion.
 12. Aportable organizer comprises; a container portion; said containerportion having at least one compartment; said container portion havingan attachment end; a bracket attached to said attachment end; a tongueportion adapted to removably fit within said bracket; said tongueportion having a storage position and an in use position wherein saidstorage position.
 13. The portable organizer according to claim 12further comprising a tray cover adapted to fit over a top portion ofsaid container portion.
 14. The portable organizer according to claim 1further comprising a plurality of relocatable inner walls adapted toremovably fit within a plurality of wall tracks disposed within saidcompartment portion.
 15. The portable organizer according to claim 14wherein said plurality of relocatable inner walls are adapted to beremovably retained within said tongue portion.
 16. The portableorganizer according to claim 15 where said plurality of relocatableinner walls are removably retained within said tongue portion by beingpre-perforated therein.
 17. The portable organizer according to claim 12further comprising a retainer means for removably retaining said tongueportion to said bracket.
 18. The portable organizer according to claim17 wherein said retainer means is a bolt.
 19. The portable organizeraccording to claim 17 wherein said retainer means is a pin.
 20. Theportable organizer according to claim 1 wherein said container portionand said tongue portion is integrally formed therein.